This year the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has existed for 70 years. During this HagueTalks we ask eight frontline LGBTI and gender rights defenders from around the world: Are we moving forwards or backwards?
The right to same-sex marriage is spreading round the world. At long last, transgender rights are being taken seriously. From the Hollywood Hills to the streets of Delhi, people are saying no to harassment and gender-based violence. But at the same time, gay men are being rounded up and brutalized in Chechnya. Across swathes of the world, for women, simply walking in public brings a constant threat of harassment and attack. The progress we’ve made on LGBTI and gender rights is meeting with a worldwide backlash.
Eight frontline LGBTI and gender rights defenders from Colombia, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Nigeria and Ukraine, Russia and Kenya, reflect in a short, personal talk on the state of LGBTI and gender rights today. This is followed up by a discussion with the audience.
About the speakers
Due to security considerations, not all speakers are announced online.
- Akudo Nzubechi Oguaghamba from Nigeria. Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative (WHER), a non-profit organization focused on promoting the well-being and protecting the rights of Lesbian, Bisexual and other sexual minority women (LBSMW) in Nigeria.
- Don Catherine Awuor Ochieng from Kenya. Director of Women Working with Women, which is a Lesbian Bisexual and Queer women (LBQ) Human Rights Organization.
- Ruslana Panukhnyk from Ukraine. Executive Director of KyivPride NGO. This organization is operating in the field of promoting and protecting LGBTI rights in Ukraine and organizing the largest and most visible LGTBI event in Ukraine.
- Ruslan Savolainen from Russia. Works for Coming Out, a LGBT group as a coordinator of Queer Culture Festival Queer Fest. He is also working for Russian LGBT network in a programme to evacuate LGBT people from Chechnya.
- Tingting Wei from China. Founder and Director of Guangzou Gender Health Education Institute (GGSEC). This institute provides gender and sexuality education trainings to promote and protect the rights of sexual minorities and activists in China.
- Matilda González Gil from Colombia. Lawyer in International Human Rights and LGBTI rights. Matilda herself is a transgender woman that advocates for the rights of this vulnerable group in Colombia.
- Syeda Shagufe Hossain from Bangladesh. Founder and project director of Leaping Boundaries. This organization aims to transform social norms where every child, regardless of the gender, is treated equally.
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Janet Anderson is the moderator.
Join the discussion and stay updated via our Facebook event.